Town Council approves business workshop for November

010317 PBDN Meghan McCarthy Julie Araskog accepts the nomination for Seat - Group 2 during the Town of Palm Beach Caucus at Town Hall Tuesday night.

The Town Council is in the process of finalizing a plan for a business workshop, which will be held this fall and is intended to spark growth in the town’s commerce.

The workshop, tentatively set for Nov. 30, was born out of a desire to bring property owners, managers, business owners and leadership from retail associations together to discuss solutions for the problems they all face.

Councilwoman Julie Araskog is spearheading the project, which was approved by the council after she proposed it at a September meeting.

“There are recurring issues businesses face,” Araskog said. “Let’s work together to solve some of these issues.”

Laurel Baker, executive director of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, envisions the workshop as an opportunity to provide new and existing businesses with all the pertinent information about the town’s business guidelines, she said. This would include licenses, applications guidelines and rules regarding signage, parking, security alarms and awnings.

Palm Beach is “not a business-friendly environment, and it should be and it can be,” Baker said. The focus of the workshop is still pending, but Baker would like it to provide a checklist for businesses as well as give owners and managers a chance to communicate with the town about the issues they face.

Baker is not the only one looking for support from the town. Marley Herring, president of the Worth Avenue Association, said it needed the town’s support.

“We need more activity on the street to bring more people to the street,” she said, recommending evening and Sunday afternoon events as possible solutions.

Baker would like to see the town loosen up on some regulations to help businesses prosper, citing rules for things such as the color of awnings.

“You don’t provide incentives to attract businesses,” Baker told the council. “We are losing vitality. There are some shops opening on South County Road, but so much more could be done.”